(Malvern, PA) Franklin Fuel Cells has received a $1 million appropriation in the U.S. Senate’s 2006 National Defense Appropriations Bill. The announcement was made by U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), a senior member of Senate Appropriations Committee

“A number of Pennsylvania companies are enhancing the way our Armed Forces operate,” Senator Specter said. “These projects will go far in supporting the brave men and women who serve our country. I am pleased my colleagues in the Senate have recognized the valuable contribution these projects will make to our nation’s defense.”

“Pennsylvania plays a strong role in our national defense and I am proud of the people and organizations that help to make our state a top competitor for defense projects that create jobs and strengthen our economy,” said Senator Santorum. “This funding will enable these important defense projects in southeastern Pennsylvania to move forward in the effort to achieve a more secure nation.”

This funding is Franklin’s second major Defense appropriation in a year and covers Phase Two of a project begun last year for the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research. It is also the company’s second major federal grant in little more than nine months. Last July, Franklin’s patented Copper-Ceria SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) technology received a prestigious SECA grant.

The Senate’s statement said: “$1 million to Franklin Fuel Cells in Chester County for Copper-Ceramic Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Technology research. Deployment of fuel cells has the potential to greatly reduce military fuel costs and distribution logistics. However, current fuel cell technologies must use either hydrogen or zero/low sulfur fuels which makes them impractical for military deployment.”
 

John Law, Franklin’s CEO, commented on the latest funding. “This is going to fund a Phase-Two program with our first Navy appropriation begun last year. The most important thing for us is that it is a tangible acknowledgement of our success in Phase One  and you had better show measurable successes in order to merit a ‘Phase Two’. Among those successes were our demonstration of 500+ hours of continuous operation on hydrocarbon fuels at high fuel utilization, increase in average single cell power density of more than 50%, and reduction by two-thirds in cell fabrication cost.

“We sincerely believe our Phase One success was possible because of the provable uniqueness of our technology. We’re the only fuel-cell technology company to offer patented, proprietary Copper-Ceria anode and Direct Oxidation SOFC technology. Our anode solves the ‘fouling’ problems of the traditional Nickel anode that is quickly destroyed when exposed to hydrocarbon fuels, as well as Nickel’s extreme sensitivity to the sulfur these fuels contain. In fact, Nickel cannot handle the sulfur levels in common fuels such as gasoline, kerosene, and diesel.”

To combat these problems, traditional Nickel-anode SOFC systems require the addition of a reformer in the system to convert the hydrocarbon fuel into hydrogen, plus additional system components for sulfur removal. The result is a fuel-cell system that’s not only less efficient than Franklin’s, but that is also more complicated and expensive because of the need for the reformer and de-Sulfurization equipment. Franklin says that its Direct Oxidation SOFC technology, on the other hand, allows hydrocarbon fuels to be fed directly fed into the fuel cell with no reforming or additional water/steam, resulting in much greater system simplicity which reduces capital costs and maintenance. And Franklin claims its proprietary technology can offer increased system efficiency as much as 56% higher than traditional SOFCs.

Franklin’s advantages result in a system that is extremely fuel flexible, as proven in its phase-one success when its technology demonstrated  500+ hours of continuous hydrocarbon-fuel operation at high fuel utilization. The company has also proven and demonstrated this fuel flexibility on everything from Bp/Amoco pump gas from a local service station, Ethanol, Propane, 2006 commercial Diesel, Natural Gas, Butane, Methane, Hexane, Decane, Dodecane, Hexadecane, JP-8, and Heavy Naphtha  virtually every form of today’s readily-available hydrocarbon fuels, as well as the fuels of tomorrow.

“In Franklin’s view, it’s not just a matter of making claims for your technology; it’s about being able to prove, to demonstrate the technology’s viability and continued performance improvements which will enable fuel cell products to reach the market sooner.”

Franklin Fuel Cells is a venture-backed SOFC technology company located in Malvern, PA, about 30 miles from downtown Philadelphia, PA. Its Intellectual Property portfolio consists of 8 U.S. patents, 30 U.S. patent applications, and 18 invention disclosures.